Death penalty will get Judicial Proceedings vote, Miller says

House in line to pass a repeal, Busch says

ANNAPOLIS — A bill to repeal Maryland's death penalty that languished in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee for two years will get a committee vote this year, and it is "strongly possible" to see a vote in the full Senate, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said last week.

"There's going to be a vote in JPR," Miller (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach said Jan. 29. "I have no idea what the vote is going to be."

If the bill came before the Senate, Miller said he would work for cloture if the debate dragged on.

The death penalty has become a central issue of policy debate in the legislature. Efforts to repeal capital punishment have been stymied in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, where a repeal bill failed by a 6-5 vote in 2007 and did not receive a vote last year.

Efforts to pass the bill have been energized this year behind the report of a 23-member panel that called for the abolition of Maryland's death penalty. The panel was commissioned by Gov. Martin O'Malley, who on Jan. 28 called for an "up or down vote in both houses of this legislature," during his State of the State address.

The state statute is "outdated, expensive, and utterly ineffective," O'Malley (D) said.

Benjamin R. Civiletti, the former U.S. attorney general who chaired the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment, said Jan. 29 that the greatest obstacles for a repeal bill to overcome are the "myths" associated with the death penalty.

"When the facts are known, it becomes pretty clear that it is unnecessary and ineffective, and it's no reason to spend a lot of money and risk the conviction of an innocent person," Civiletti said.

Death penalty opponents said they will continue to put pressure on lawmakers.

"We are doing everything we can to communicate to legislators we think this is the year to change this law," said Mary Ellen Russell, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference.

Churches are telling their parishioners to call their legislators at Sunday Mass and through an online advocacy network, Russell said. The organization expects hundreds of people to press the issue at its annual lobbying night in Annapolis on Feb. 16.

Joseph C. Bryce, O'Malley's chief legislative officer, said Jan. 29 that the governor is still focused on finding a sixth supporter on Judicial Proceedings. They were not pondering a parliamentary maneuver that could bring the bill to the floor of the Senate without a committee vote.

The maneuver was used in 2000 to pull a gun safety measure out of JPR. The committee had refused to move forward with the bill, and the tactic infuriated Republicans.

Miller predicted a close vote in the Senate. "25-22, 24-23, 26-21," he said.

"There's a question whether it's a fair vote because of an unfavorable report in the committee," he said.

Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chairman Brian E. Frosh bristled at the contention that the onus is on his committee to move the bill.

"In the House, they're always talking about, Oh, we'll let the Senate go first,'" said Frosh (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda. "They've never had a vote. They haven't had a vote in committee; they haven't had a vote on the floor. We've had both. The House waters are totally untested."

Not a problem, House Speaker Michael E. Busch said Jan. 29.

"I think there are enough votes in the [House] Judiciary Committee and in the majority of the House to repeal the death penalty," said Busch (D-Dist. 30) of Annapolis.

Still, passage of the controversial bill "is not a gimme for the governor," said House Majority Leader Kumar P. Barve (D-Dist. 17) of Gaithersburg.

Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, who has been a leading advocate for abolishing capital punishment, said all the options are on the table, whether it involves a favorable vote in committee or bringing the bill to the floor.

And she's optimistic it will pass.

"Because of the statewide optimism, people are really willing to look at new ideas," Gladden said.